A dingo brutally attacked a young child on Australia’s K’gari-Fraser Island on Monday.
The child, who was described as elementary school-aged, was swimming when the wild dog “tried to grab her and reportedly held her under water for a few seconds,” rescuers said, according to the BBC. The dingo approached her from behind, and grabbed her head, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) said of the incident, noting that the girl was swimming in a shallow lagoon at the time of the attack.
Family members who were nearby when the attack occurred were able to free the child from the dingo. She sustained injuries to her head and fingers as the animal repeatedly bit her. When paramedics arrived, the child was treated at the scene but ended up being airlifted to a local area hospital by LifeFlight air ambulance services, the BBC continued.
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The dingo is believed to be an untagged male. Rangers from QPWS are investigating the incident, according to a statement issued by the organization. “Visitors and residents on K’gari are reminded to keep children under constant supervision,” QPWS wrote.
K’gari-Fraser Island is home to some 200 wild dingos, which visitors are told explicitly not to feed. Two other children have been attacked on the island by dingos, with one of them dying from their injuries, the BBC reported. (RELATED: ‘Toadzilla’ Discovered In Australia)
Studies suggest that dingos have been attacking and sometimes killing children for centuries in Australia. Systematic culling of dingo families may have mitigated the species’ worst predatory behavior.